By Brian McVicar | The Muskegon Chronicle
February 05, 2010, 6:30PM
Chris Larson of Grand Rapids took this picture of what appears to be a cougar while visiting a friend in the village of Rothbury.Chris Larson had just finished pouring a bowl of dog food at a friend’s home in Rothbury Friday morning when she witnessed an unexpected sight — a cougar prowling in the woods.
“I called the DNR,” said Larson, a Grand Rapids resident who e-mailed the photos she snapped of the cougar to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. “It was bigger than a bobcat.”
Whether or not cougars live in Michigan has generated intense debate in recent years. The DNRE couldn’t immediately confirm whether the animal Larson saw was a cougar but a representative from an independent wildlife agency says the animal fit the description of a cougar.
Scores of Michigan residents say they’ve spotted cougars, with some wildlife groups calling on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to recognize a breeding population and implement a plan to ensure their survival. But while the DNR has acknowledged cougars have been spotted in Michigan, the agency says there is no evidence of an established breeding population.
Larson says she’s confident that the animal she saw was a cougar, which typically weigh between 90 and 180 pounds and measure 5 to 6 feet from snout to the base of the animal’s tail. She’s seen the animals on a trip she took out west and on TV.
“I was able to take a picture of the footprints,” Larson said, adding the animal’s paw print was about two inches wide and nearly two inches long. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Tim Lyon, a wildlife technician at the DNRE’s Baldwin office, says staff will investigate the scene and ask wildlife experts to review the photos.
He says cougar sightings aren’t unusual. His office, which oversees six counties, including Oceana and Newaygo, has received reports of a dozen sightings in the past six months.
“We want to find out if these animals are out there,” he said, adding cougar paws are usually 4 inches wide and 4 inches long. “We want to know that and we take it as a very serious report when these come out.”
Cougars, also known as mountain lions, are most commonly found in the western United States, Lyon said. While the DNRE has confirmed that cougar tracks have been spotted in the Upper Peninsula, there’s no evidence the animals have an established population, he said.
“We’re not saying they’re not here, we’re just saying we can’t find them,” Lyon said. “If they are here, we would like to confirm that.”
Dennis Fijalkowski, executive director of Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, said the animal’s black-tipped ears, muscular frame and thick tail are all characteristics of a cougar. He said he could not confirm the photographed animal as being a cougar until the site could be examined.
“The coloration and configuration of the animal is certainly consistent with a cougar,” Fijalkowski said.
Michigan Wildlife Conservancy researchers claim to have found cougar DNA in scat from seven counties and have documented evidence of cougars from several other sites. The nonprofit organization works to restore and conserve wetlands, streams and grasslands so that wildlife can thrive.
